Mattapoisett Free Public Library
Mattapoisett Free Public Library serves Mattapoisett’s 6,589 residents. Last year it lent 88K books, movies and e-books and logged 57K visits.
The short version on Mattapoisett’s library
Mattapoisett uses its library more than almost any town its size
Mattapoisett Free Public Library logs 8.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Mattapoisett out-borrows every town next door
At 13 loans per resident, Mattapoisett leads the four towns here. The closest is Marion, at 6.3. Libraries next door ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 51% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 42 items per child in Mattapoisett last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in Massachusetts for kids’ borrowing
Mattapoisett ranks #13 of 255 Massachusetts towns with a library of their own for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Mattapoisett Free Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Mattapoisett last year.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
88K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 54K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Every hour the doors are open, about 41 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
Mattapoisett Free Public Library serves 6,589 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mattapoisett cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $544K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $544K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 3,891 cardholders ÷ 12.
Find it
Mattapoisett Free Public Library, 7 Barstow Street, Mattapoisett.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Mattapoisett? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Mattapoisett borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report.
About these numbers
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
- Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Mattapoisett.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.